KARACHI, Aug 15: An inquiry into the recent mysterious loss of four lion cubs at the Karachi zoological gardens is under way and a team of experts collected samples from the pen on Monday.
The samples of lungs, kidneys and liver were taken from the bodies of the three lion cubs on Saturday.
The vets, working at the livestock department, were part of the city government team led by Revenue Executive District Officer Ghanwar Leghari, who was appointed inquiry officer by the Karachi administrator to investigate the incident.
The samples collected from the site had been sent to the Sindh chief chemical examiner and a Dow University of Health Sciences' laboratory.
However, no examination of the lioness' stool was carried out in order to determine the veracity of the zoo officials' claim that one cub had been eaten up by its mother.
“The stool examination should be done the very next day of the incident. Or else, you lose the evidence. Hair couldn't be digested and is released into the stool. It is visible to the naked eye in the stool and a laboratory testing is not required,” said Dr Masood Rabbani of University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.
The experts' team, however, collected samples of the grass and dust from the small pen where the babies had been born in an effort to find any clue to the fourth baby.
According to sources, the experts expressed surprise over the size of the cage that they found to be too small for a big cat to move about.
A large box, placed inside perhaps for the mother to keep her babies, had further reduced the size of the semi-shaded cage.
This also came to light during their visit that none of the zoo staff was responsible for seeing to it that the babies were sufficiently nursed by their mother. The staff used to hear the babies' cries, but none of them was trained to handle the newborns.
This was the lioness' first birth and, according to experts, it is common among female species to stop feeding after the first birth. Another government team, constituted by Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani, headed by Special Secretary Shazia Rizvi, is yet to start its inquiry.
Four cubs were born to a pair of lions last Sunday. While three cubs were found dead on Friday morning, one was missing. Zoo officials claimed that the missing cub was eaten up by its mother, though, according to experts, it is very rare for a lioness to eat her own baby.